


I Take Your Pain with My Own

by tiniestmite



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [14]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Gun Violence, Gunshot Wounds, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:01:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28602606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiniestmite/pseuds/tiniestmite
Summary: When TK and Carlos are called to the same scene, their excitement soon turns into a nightmare.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1984406
Comments: 22
Kudos: 159
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	I Take Your Pain with My Own

**Author's Note:**

> Vague summary to maintain the element of surprise but please read the tags if you have any hesitations!! 
> 
> Title is from "If You Go" by Fortunate Ones

The heat of a burning building never fails to get TK’s heart racing. Moving through the smoke, searching for any signs of life as his lungs scream at him for fresh oxygen over the amount he has left in his tank.

He feels that same adrenaline now, working his way through an abandoned warehouse that had gone up in flames. While they didn’t know for sure if anyone was inside, the 126 made the call to put their lives on the line and search the building anyway. 

As his crew spreads out in their different directions to cover more area of the large space, TK can’t help but smile. Selfishly, these are his favorite calls to be on. While of course he hopes that no one is seriously hurt, there’s nothing quite like running head first into danger.

Not to mention, on this call in particular he also got to briefly see Carlos before he geared up. Dispatch had warned the 126 that a suspicious figure had been spotted leaving the scene and that APD was also responding. TK would be lying if he said his heart didn’t leap out of his chest at the thought of being on the same call as his boyfriend.

Though they were only able to exchange a few quick smiles before they were both forced to do the job they were there to do, it was enough.

Now making his way through the warehouse, TK can’t help but notice how the structure surrounding him creaks.

Not a good sign.

He’s about to radio it in, when he spots it just in time; A falling beam, descending from the high ceiling right above his head.

Quickly, he makes a dive out of the way avoiding the fiery beam. As he lands, he swears he can hear an audible pop in his left shoulder, even above the roar of the fire.

_Shit._

He manages to get up with his one good arm when his dad comes on over the radio.

_“This building is unstable. 126 evacuate now.”_

TK resists the urge to roll his eyes. _You could say that._

Instead he shakes his head and makes his way towards the exit. Entering in the bright sunlight outside of the building, TK squints as he begins the careful process of shedding his gear. Though he can’t seem to hide the wince that passes over his face when he goes to move his shoulder. Once he gets his mask and helmet off, he carefully cradles the joint with his other arm, sighing as it provides the slightest bit of relief. 

“You alright there, Strand?” Judd approaches him. Clearly, the awkward way he is holding his shoulder isn’t going to fool anyone. 

“I just hurt my shoulder a little bit. I’m sure it’s fine though.”

“Yeah well, why don’t we let Michelle be the judge of that,” Judd says, placing a gentle hand on TK’s uninjured shoulder and guides him over to the ambulance without giving him a chance to argue.

“What do we have here?” Michelle questions as the pair gets closer. 

“Kid hurt his shoulder.”

“It’s fine,” TK says as he makes himself comfortable on the stretcher and tries to hide a wince as the movement jostles his wounded shoulder.

“Your face tells a different story,” Judd fires back. “I’ll let cap know we’re down a man.”

TK opens his mouth to argue but the other man is gone before he can let him know not to worry his dad. Though the way the pain shoots through his shoulder as Michelle carefully removes his turnout coat, he figures there’s no hiding it at this point.

“You really did a number here, TK. Hasn’t your poor shoulder been through enough?” Michelle notes as she cradles his shoulder. Even her light touch, sends a sharp pain running through the joint. Much to his luck, he didn’t even notice until now that it was the same shoulder he got shot in. “I think it may be dislocated.”

TK bites back a groan, leaning back on the stretcher. _Great_.

“When we finish up here, I’ll take you over to the hospital to get checked out and they can confirm for sure. But I think you’re looking at a least a few weeks in a sling.”

“Perfect,” he replies, sarcastically.

He’s about to ask how long Michelle thinks he’s going to have to take off on medical leave when Michelle’s radio crackles to life. 

_“Officer down. Suspect is in custody. Requesting immediate medical assistance.”_

TK shoots up and locks eyes with Michelle. Neither one has to say anything to know they are both thinking the same thing.

He looks around the scene, hoping for the tiniest of glance of Carlos and praying that his worst thoughts aren’t about to come true. He tries not to let his heart sink too much when Carlos is nowhere to be found. There’s no reason to panic yet. 

“Let me come with you,” he catches Michelle’s attention as she grabs her medical duffle bag.

“TK, it’s better if you stay here. For more than one reason,” she says, giving a quick nod to his injured shoulder.

“Please. Michelle, I have to know.”

She looks back and forth between TK and the chaotic scene around them before sighing in defeat. “Fine.”

He slides off of the stretcher and follows Michelle through the crowd. He does his best to keep up with her quick pace, while also holding his shoulder in place. The pain he feels is the last thing on his mind right now. 

As they make their way over, he scans each face searching and hoping for one of them to be Carlos, until he finally spots him. 

On the ground.

His feet and his heart come thundering to a standstill. His chest tightens at the sight as all the puzzle pieces fall into place. Carlos had been shot.

While thankfully there’s no blood in sight, the way Carlos’ face is contorted and how he is holding his chest makes it clear that he is in pain.

In one fluid motion, TK finds himself sliding onto the ground next to him, ignoring the pain he feels when he lets go of his arm in favor of running his hand through Carlos’ dark curls. “Hey, baby. It’s okay.”

He’s not sure if he’s saying that to reassure Carlos or himself. 

“TK?” Carlos stutters out.

“TK, I need room to work,” Michelle tries to get his attention.

He shifts to the side before turning back to Carlos. “Yeah, I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

He barely registers as Michelle begins to work on stabilizing Carlos. He channels all his focus on Carlos’ eyes. The way they convey such panic, yet he still appears so calm. He also picks up on how much he’s struggling to breathe.

TK tries to push down his training, the analysis that comes as second nature to him, as it only works to feed into his anxiety. He doesn’t want to think about how hurt Carlos is, he doesn’t want his brain to figure out how bad it is, how likely that these few struggling breaths might be his last ones. 

Carlos’ breathing is worse than TK likes to see on anyone. Each inhale comes more strained and shallow than the previous, while his exhales are staggered undoubtedly by pain as each release gets harder.

But he’s going to be okay. Right? He has to be. TK isn’t prepared for the potential of Carlos not being okay.

“The bullet went through the vest,” Michelle notes grimly, pulling TK from his thoughts.

_No._

He vaguely hears Michelle trying to get his attention. Saying something along the lines of “We have to get him to the hospital.” But he can’t stop his thoughts from spiraling.

Carlos was wearing a bulletproof vest. Bulletproof. Unless TK was missing something, Carlos shouldn’t currently have a bullet in his chest. 

And a bullet anywhere was bad news. There was so much in the chest that a bullet even nicking would mean potentially fatal damage for Carlos to be faced with. TK had barely survived his own bullet wound in his _shoulder_. The more he thought about it, the more impossible it became for TK to keep his breathing in control.

“TK,” Michelle finally gets his attention. Her voice quavers with worry, but she is clearly trying to maintain her professional composure. “Let’s get you both to the hospital, yeah?”

He nods, still trying to process everything that’s unfolding before him.

* * *

It turns out that getting your dislocated shoulder reset and getting fit for a sling takes a hell of a lot less time than surgery to remove a bullet from a chest, TK discovers.

Which leaves him with a lot of time to himself, to get lost in his head. He can’t believe this is happening - he can’t believe that Carlos has been shot. In the chest. While wearing his vest. This wasn’t supposed to happen; that was the entire point of the bulletproof vest. 

He is sitting in the waiting room, pondering this when his dad arrives. He offers a change of clothes but TK shakes his head - he can’t leave the waiting room. He can’t miss the news that might come, one way or the other. 

“It could be awhile, T. You need to take care of yourself. At least get changed and grab something to eat since I doubt you’ve eaten anything since breakfast. I promise to call you if I hear anything.”

“I’m not leaving, dad,” TK says. There’s no way for him to know that it will be awhile. For all he knows, the doctor could walk through with an update as soon as he ducks in the bathroom to get changed. 

Nope, he will be staying right here. 

Owen nods, knowing not to push the argument further. He takes a seat next to him, giving TK’s knee a light pat. “He’s going to pull through.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I guess I don’t,” Owen’s shoulder sag. “But I know that he’s in the best possible hands and that he’s a fighter. He’s doing everything in his power to get back to you.”

TK nods in agreement and they fall into a comfortable silence. He shifts awkwardly in the chair trying to find a more relaxed position. But between the hard wood that clearly wasn’t meant to be comfortable for long periods of time, and the inconvenient sling binding his left arm close to his chest it’s a near impossible task.

Eventually he settles in a slightly slouched position, resting his head in his right palm. He sighs, staring at the swinging doors of the trauma unit. Each person that walks out of the door brings him more hope that they are coming over to talk to him, only to get let down when they walk in the other direction. He doesn’t even notice as his eyelids grow heavier until they finally droop closed.

The first thing TK notices when he blinks his eyes open is the pain. Not just from his shoulder, but from his entire upper body. He blinks again to clear his vision and finds his dad looking at him. 

“How are you feeling?” Owen asks, as TK sits up. 

“Sore,” he responds with a wince as he straightens in his seat and looks around, taking in the surroundings. 

His dad hums in agreement. “I’d imagine so, you did not look comfortable. I figured I should let you sleep though, if you were tired enough to fall asleep like that.” 

TK blinks at his dad again as he puts the pieces together, slowly. He’s in the hospital waiting room. He shakes his head as if that would help to clear the fog from his brain when suddenly it comes back to him. The warehouse fire, the officer down call, _Carlos_. 

“Carlos!” he says suddenly, turning back towards the doors of the trauma unit. “Have you heard anything yet? Is he…”

His dad holds up a placating hand. “Carlos is fine. He’s out of surgery and in a recovery room. He should be waking up any minute, and you can go back whenever you are ready.” 

TK can hardly believe his ears. _Carlos was okay - he was really okay_. It seems like a miracle to TK. But something else is bothering him. “How long was I asleep,” he asked his dad. “How long have you known? You should have woken me up!” 

His father gives him a stern look. “There was no point in getting you up just so you could go stare at him sleeping for another hour. Besides,” he adds, his tone softening, “I know how you are. You’re going to be so worried about Carlos, who knows when you’ll get some proper sleep again. I figured it was best to let you get some rest while you could.” 

TK deflates, knowing his dad is right. He gives him an apologetic smile, which is returned. 

“Do you think I can go see him now?” 

Owen nods. “He’s in room 108. I’ll stop by in a little bit, let you two have some time first.” 

“Thanks dad.” 

“Don’t mention it kid. Now, go find your boy.” 

TK nods hurriedly, wasting no time pushing himself out of the stiff chair with his one good arm and following the signs down the hallway until he stops just short of Carlos’ room. He takes a deep breath before entering through the sliding glass door. 

A wave of relief washes over him at the sight of Carlos. He’s grateful to see that the other man is in fact awake, and out of surgery. Besides the look of exhaustion and a hint of paleness on his face, Carlos appears to be okay. If TK ignores the various tubes and wires currently attached to Carlos’ body, and blocks out the knowledge that there’s a hole in his chest, he might be able to convince himself that Carlos wasn’t as hurt as he was. 

“Hey,” Carlos greets him with a smile, breaking TK from his trance. Though the grin quickly falls from his face as he zeros in on TK’s sling. “What happened to your arm?”

TK furrows his brow. “Carlos, you got shot. I think if we’re going to argue on who is more hurt here, the answer is you.”

“Touche.”

TK softens and grabs the chair in the room, pulling it closer to Carlos’ bed before taking a seat. “How are you feeling? What do you remember?”

“A little sore, I guess,” Carlos shifts uncomfortably as he tries to turn more to face TK. “I don’t really remember that much of what happened. It’s coming back in bits and pieces. I remember running into the suspect and I tried to talk him down but I didn’t see the gun until it was too late.”

Just picturing it makes TK’s mind start to spiral. The thought of Carlos being on the wrong end of a gun makes him sick to his stomach. It’s not supposed to be like this. 

Carlos must sense TK’s unease because he reaches over, ignoring the tug from the IV on the back of his hand, to grab TK’s hand reassuringly. “Hey, I’m here. I’m okay.”

“Are you though? Carlos, you got shot. In the chest. Through your bullet proof vest which apparently is not actually bullet proof.”

“I was just standing too close to the suspect, TK. But I’m alive.”

“But you have a hole in your chest,” TK says, trying his best to hold it together but the emotion clearly slips through in his voice.

“I know,” Carlos sighs. “But I got lucky. The bullet didn’t hit anything vital and maybe I’m not okay right now, but I’m going to be.”

TK nods. “I was just really scared, Carlos.”

“I’m sorry.”

TK averts his gaze, unsure how to continue the conversation. He knows they could talk in circles for hours about how traumatizing this was, for both of them really. But he also knows that it’s probably best to end the conversation there, at least for now.

“Are you going to tell me what happened to you now?” Carlos finally speaks up again.

“I dislocated my shoulder when I was inside the warehouse. It could have been a lot worse though. It only happened because I jumped out of the way of the falling beam.”

Carlos’ eyes widen as TK recounts what happened. “I guess danger is attracted to both of us today.”

TK chuckles lightly and smiles. “That’s one way of putting it.”

* * *

Watching Carlos attempt to get settled on the couch, TK frowns. They had only been home for a day and Carlos had made it clear that he was determined to do everything on his own and wanted TK to just focus on his own healing. As shown off in his current display shifting around on the cushions and wincing with each movement.

“You need another pillow,” TK says, grabbing one of the throw pillows from the chair and handing it to Carlos “You look uncomfortable.”

“Wasn’t this the exact thing you were complaining about when your dad was hovering over you after you got shot?” Carlos fires back while still graciously accepting the extra pillow. “Besides, you need to be resting too.”

“Well now you’re the one who’s shot. And besides, I’m not the one who just had major surgery.”

“Yes, but you do only have one working arm so please just sit down and relax for a minute.”

TK sighs before taking a seat next to Carlos. Of course he could feel himself putting strain on his shoulder, and he knew that he needed to be taking it easy if wanted to return to work as soon as possible. But at the same time, he couldn’t help it. His boyfriend had been shot and therefore he had an obligation to take care of him. 

Knowing that Carlos is now settled with more than enough pillow, TK is able to relax a little. He snuggles up to Carlos’ left side, mindful of both Carlos’ and his own injuries. Their period of rest is interrupted by a knock at the door.

They both shoot up at the same time, both clearly determined to be the one who answers the door. 

“Let me get it, please,” TK tries to plead with his boyfriend.

Carlos stares at him. “You only have one working arm, TK. I got it.”

“Yeah, well you had a bullet in your chest so I win. Sit back down.”

TK smiles as Carlos pouts, but obliges. He gives him a light kiss on the cheek before making his way over to the front door. 

When he opens the door, he tries to hold back his surprise when he finds Grace standing there with her signature warm smile and holding several tubs of what he can only assume to be food for him and Carlos.

“Grace,” he smiles, welcoming her. “Come in.”

“It’s good to see you on your feet, TK. Though I thought you should be resting,” she says, entering the space and giving a quick wave to Carlos.

“He is supposed to be resting,” Carlos replies as TK shoots him a glare.

“Well _someone_ had to answer the door and you’re the one who’s more hurt.”

“Debatable, but whatever you say, babe.”

Grace chuckles lightly. “Well, I won’t stay long but I wanted to make sure you guys were taking care of yourselves. I brought some leftover chicken and rice, and some sides for you guys so you don’t have to live off take out food.”

“Thank you, Grace. That’s very kind of you,” TK says with a smile. “Between you and my dad, I think Carlos and I will be set for the duration of both of our medical leaves.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” she says, returning the smile before directing her attention to the tupperware. “Is there any specific spot you want these put away?”

“I can show you, Grace,” Carlos chimes in, already making a move to push himself off of the sofa.

“I’ve got it, Carlos.”

“It’s my kitchen, TK.”

“Why don’t you both sit down and I can figure it out myself,” Grace cuts in before either one can get another word in. “Have you guys eaten yet today? I can heat some of this up now.”

“Oh, no Grace. You really don’t have to-” TK tries to stop her but is cut off by her waving him off. 

“Honey, please. I insist. Go sit down and relax. You both need it,” she says with a small laugh.

TK smiles and watches her move about Carlos’ kitchen, already pulling out the necessary pots and pans before TK can further argue. He makes his way back over to the couch, sliding into his previous spot curled up into Carlos’ side. 

Carlos wraps his arm around TK, pulling him closer while also trying not to jostle his still sore shoulder too much. “I’m not hurting you, right?”

“No, I’m fine. Are you okay?”

“Perfect,” Carlos smiles. They stay like that, wrapped up in each other's embrace and knowing that they were both going to be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for my bthb card, the square "gunshot wound"! You can see the board [here](https://officereyes.tumblr.com/post/632449748643741696/updated-16-1000-am-est-looking-for-prompt)
> 
> I also just changed my url on tumblr - find me at officereyes.tumblr.com !
> 
> I love comments and kudos !!


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